


Light in My Life

by tobilight125



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Language, Undyne and Sans like to curse, mostly Undyne though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-18 21:42:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7331620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tobilight125/pseuds/tobilight125
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When space and time is ripped open, there is technically only one monster who can save everyone from certain doom. But can they? Or, better yet, will they? Explosions and a meddling flower. Takes place post-pacifist after many resets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A pacifist ending does not equal a peaceful beginning.
> 
> I will be posting warnings, if there are any needed, before every chapter. If you would like a summary of the chapter, please let me know. First warning: Vomit. I apologize. It happens. Not again for a while though, promise.

“Sans, you lazybones, get your bony butt out here! I swear, if you make us late again I’ll-” Sans stopped listening and teleported, landing directly behind Undyne, who was still yelling profanities through his door. 

“Uh, heya. ready whenever you guys are,” Sans smirked as Undyne jumped then turned around, cursing some more creative words under her breath. 

“Yeah, whatever, Pap and them are waiting outside. Come on,” Undyne grumbled, fixing her ponytail and stomping the whole way down the stairs and through the front door. 

As they walked outside, Sans sighed, enjoying the view of the setting sun. He would never get used to it. The underground never offered such a view. He remembered their first sunset together, only a few months back. A smile beyond his permanent one crept across his face. 

“What are you thinking about, brother?” Papyrus had, at some point during their walk, made his way next to Sans. He leaned down and whispered, in all innocence and sincerity, “Are you thinking of the queen again? Undyne has been telling me-” 

“N-n-no! Pap, I don’t think of her like that,” Sans sputtered out, keeping his voice low, staring over at the queen walking on the other side of their group. “I mean, I like her, but, not like, you know. I just wanna be friends. It’s not…” 

“Why are you blushing brother? Are you feeling alright? Is it your magic again?” Papyrus leaned in closer to Sans and took off his glove, feeling the side of his brother’s skull. 

“No, Pap, I’m fine. Let’s just drop it, okay?” Sans huffed, gently pushing his brother’s hand away and pulling up his hood. 

“Well, alright, if you insist,” Papyrus pulled his glove back on and stared at his brother questioningly for a moment, then turned to Undyne to continue a previous conversation. 

The group slowly made their way to the edge of town, where there was a concert tonight. The star, of course, was Mettaton. Sans was only going because of his brother, who idolized the robot, and not because of any other reason. He was not nervous about anything else, of course. It just so happened to be a concert set as a celebration for the finality of shutting down the Core. 

After the majority of the monsters had moved above ground a few months back, the first priority, after stabilizing a loose society above ground, was to get generators to the monsters who decided to stay in the underground. The Core, although it had given the underground its power mostly unhindered for majority of their time down there, had become a burden on the monsters who needed to keep it running. And, with the scientists who had kept it running now above ground or gone, they had no reason to keep it going. Thus the concert. The monsters had finally powered the small parts of the underground that needed it. Tonight, they would power it down once and for all. 

Sans, after hearing this the first time, had at first been nervous about it. He remembered broken chunks of his time as a royal assistant, but his memory has been getting fuzzy with all the resets. Along with the memories, however, came an overwhelming sense of unease. He could not explain it, and his notes that had made it through the accident did not tell him anything significant, so he shrugged it off. This did not stop his intuition from telling him something bad might happen. 

Alphys, being the last royal scientist, had assured Sans against his worries when he had brought it up. The Core has been running for years without interference, and she could not see anything that would harm anyone if it were to be shut down now. Of course she had also asked why he seemed so nervous about it, but he shrugged it off as a gut feeling, then proceeded to make a bad pun. 

However, even with reassurances, he still felt something was off. Perhaps it was a memory he had lost. Sans knew that his memory was not all there anymore. Years ago, after the accident at the lab, he suddenly could not remember what exactly he had done there. He remembered the Core, and various other experiments. Vague shapes and other images came from the back of his mind every so often, but they were blurry and he could never quite focus on them. The other monsters could never really explain to him what had happened, either. With his nonchalant attitude, however, Sans did not let anyone know just how much this bothered him. He eventually got use to the constant nagging at the edge of his memories when he thought he saw something familiar. All he had left were his notes and a few pictures…

“Wowie! Everyone from the underground is here! How exciting!” Sans was snapped from his thoughts as Papyrus ran forward and gushed about the concert. The small skeleton smiled at his brother’s antics. Sans loved Papyrus more than life itself. Without his constant enthusiasm and gentle coaxing and help, Sans would not have made it during the first few years after the accident, or even during the resets.

“Hey, you big lug, slow down! We’re gonna lose you in this crowd!” Undyne yelled. 

“Your brother is quite enthusiastic, isn’t he Sans?” Toriel had made her way over to Sans. He pulled down his hood and let his eyes wander up to the taller monster. 

“Yeah. He’s the coolest, isn't he?” Sans said, in all honesty, and Toriel answered in a giggle. Then, she turned to her other side, and signed a few words to Frisk, who had tugged on her hand to get her attention. 

“Frisk would like to know if you would lift them up,” Toriel turned back to Sans, a knowing grin on her face. Sans sighed and leaned forward, catching the eyes of the human. He smirked, then moved his hand, easily lifting Frisk off of the ground. They let out a delighted squeal, then gasped as the whole  stage for the concert came into view. Mettaton took his job seriously, and that meant everything was set up perfectly, and was as spectacular as him and Alphys could make it. 

“See a good spot up there for us?” Sans yelled into the air. Frisk nodded from their precarious height, then pointed to the right of them and signed ‘Undyne and Papyrus’. Sans nodded in response, then brought them back down gently. Toriel caught them in her arms and gave Frisk a quick hug before putting them on the ground and following behind them as they made their way through the crowd. 

“Hey, Sans?” Alphys had made her way over to the skeleton and now walked beside him, weaving through the crowd nervously and apologizing when she ran into anyone. “I, um, have to get to the back of the stage, for last minute thi-things. Would yo-you like to come with me? I have a li-live video feed of th-the Core. It might help…” Alphys suggested, aware of Sans’ unease about the Core, and also understanding vaguely that he knew a bit more than the average monster on how the Core worked. Sans just shook his head. 

“Nah. I’ll just stick with the group. I trust you guys. If anything funny happens, though, text me. I’ll take a shortcut up and see if I can help.” Alphys nodded and made her way through the crowd, apologies still nervously streaming from her as she went. 

“This is the perfect spot!” Sans heard Undyne yell over the crowd as they came into view. Papyrus was staring dreamily at the stage, and did not notice his brother come behind him until there was a tug on his scarf. Papyrus tore his eyes from the concert and leaned down. 

“Hey, bro, which way is the stage? I, uh, can’t really see it,” Sans shrugged, then let out a small grunt as his brother picked him up and put him on his shoulders. 

“It will be starting soon, brother!” Papyrus yelled over the raucous crowd. “When you want down, just tug on my scarf again!” Sans nodded down, then looked over at Frisk, who was jumping up and down, trying to get his attention. They quickly signed ‘up’, then smiled when they felt their soul tug with Sans’ magic. 

Sans lifted Frisk from the ground, bringing them a few feet above Toriel, then turned back to the concert as the lights suddenly dimmed. 

“Monsters and humans, are you ready for the fabulous Mettaton?” An announcer yelled from the stage and, as the crowd screamed their answer, the lights turned back on and music came from the speakers surrounding the stage. Sans could hear his brother yelling, and he sighed, content as long as his brother was happy. 

The concert went as normal, the crowd of monsters and a few visiting humans screaming at the right intervals and singing along when necessary. Sans, for his part, kept Frisk suspended in the air, keeping the gravity around them steady. He checked his phone every so often, getting an update from Alphys. They were almost ready to shut down the Core. Sans stared at the last message, then put his phone away. He could feel himself tensing in anticipation. He could not explain why, but the bad feeling from before had come back tenfold. He turned his attention to the concert, trying to distract himself. Nothing would go wrong, surely. It was just him being his nervous self. 

Sans watched the robot and other stage performers, letting the music and screaming from the crowd drown out his thoughts. There was a strategic pause in the music, then the lights burst forth again.

Suddenly, the music seemed to hush. Sans let his content smile fall as a low buzzing began to fill the air. He scanned over the crowd, then turned back to the stage. Nothing seemed to have changed. Everyone looked like they were still shouting and, vaguely, Sans could still hear his brother below him. But he could barely hear any of it. The buzzing began to replace all sound and drown out Sans’ thoughts. It replaced everything that he had ever known. Time became irrelevant, and seemed to pass at a much slower rate than before. 

Sans stared out over the crowd again, trying to find the source of the noise. His head and eye began to throb, and he lifted a hand up to rub at his eye sockets. He paused as his hand felt his eye, then he pulled it back and stared down at the blue liquid that his fingers were lightly coated in.

The buzzing grew louder, turning into a static. 

The pain in his head increased, and Sans hissed in a quick breath, trying to drown out all the noise and confusion. He shut his eye sockets, then felt himself falling. The world stopped and everything went dark. 

 

Muffled shouting, and an immense need to vomit. Sans gagged then forced himself to roll weakly onto his side. A hand on his back helped him over just as he vomited clumsily. It tasted like rust and used magic. The hand on his back held him in place, then another rubbed gently on his spine. Another wave came and he felt tears come to his eyes as he tried to control it. He gagged again and just let it happen, resigned to his fate. A few minutes passed in relative silence, the muffled music and a few whispers filtering through. He breathed in, expanding his ribcage slowly, then exhaled and slumped heavily back against the familiar hand on his back. 

“Sans?” Papyrus’ voice cut through the fog that took over Sans’ mind as he was laid back against whatever he was lying on. He grunted in acknowledgement, then tried opening his eyes, but could not get very far, and simply let them fall shut again. He felt a wet rag wiping at his skull.

“Brother,” Papyrus urged again, this time his voice filled with relief, with hints of worry. “Alphys, he’s awake,” Papyrus called. Sans heard scuffling along a hard floor. 

“Let me see,” Alphys said, her voice right above Sans. For a moment Sans panicked, afraid of his brother moving away, but was relieved when the hold on his shoulder did not let up. The cool cloth, however, was taken away.

A bright light caused the small skeleton to flinch away, then suck in a deep breath as another wave of nausea threatened to hit him. He held it back as the light was quickly turned off and a soft beeping began next to him instead. 

“His soul seems m-mostly okay. High levels of ma-magic seem to be leaking out,” Alphys mumbled the last part to herself. “I’ll have to do s-some more scans back at the l-lab,” She continued, her voice turning away from Sans. 

“I will join you,” Toriel said, somewhere off to the left. 

“That would be helpful, thank you.” 

“I’m coming, too,” Papyrus cut in.

“O-of course. Undyne, you’re needed for crowd control, right?” 

“Yeah yeah. I’ll be down after everything is wrapped up here,” Undyne sighed. 

Sans listened, not quite understanding what was going on, but being content with ignorance for the moment as his head began to throb from an oncoming migraine. 

He felt a pair of small hands cover one of his, then there were a few movements. He recognized them as ‘Are you alright?’, then he answered back, clumsily, ‘I don’t know.’ He heard a sharp intake of breath next to him, then the hand on his shoulder moved. 

“Frisk, when did you get over there?” Papyrus asked, sounding confused, but not surprised. He felt the small hands leave his own and he tried to open his eyes once more. He was a little more successful this time. 

“pap…” Sans forced out, the rusty taste still coating the inside of his mouth making him cringe.

“Sans!” Papyrus turned away from Frisk, who was now standing in front of him, and met his brother’s dark eye sockets. “Brother, how are you feeling? Is it your magic again? I should have known earlier when I asked you the first time. I’m such a terrible brother! You scared everyone so much! Frisk just fell down, then you, and there was this stuff coming from your eye and-”

“Woah, Paps, slow down,” Sans grabbed his brother’s other hand, which was lying on the cot Sans figured out he was lying on. Papyrus clacked his teeth together, then squeezed his brother’s hand back. The taller skeleton opened his mouth again, ready to say something, when Alphys walked up behind him and grabbed his shoulder. 

“Papyrus, c-can I talk to Sans really q-quick?” After a nod from Papyrus, Alphys continued, “Sans? Can you tell me h-how you are feeling?” Alphys looked down at her cell phone, then brought it up to Sans’ chest. 

“Uh, well, I feel like a used dish towel,” Sans said, his voice weak, and he closed his eyes again, “I guess you can say I’m wrung out.” A sigh came from Papyrus. 

“Yes. We’re going to t-take you to my new l-lab. I need to g-get more accurate readings on y-your soul. Your magic seems to be fl-fluctuating rather dramat-tically.”

A handful of seconds passed before Sans felt a  tap on his cheek bone, but it did not quite rouse him out of the numb trance he was letting his mind fall into. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Sans answered, his energy quickly failing him. He felt his surroundings begin to fade out for a few seconds. 

 

“Alphys, what does this machine do?”

“It records magical energies.”

“Oh...Frisk wants to know how it does that.” 

Sans listened to his brother, his voice comforting and calming. Then, he noticed something. Or, lack thereof. They had changed settings. He could no longer hear the muffled concert.  

“Does everything look alright?” Papyrus asked, after Alphys had finished explaining the machine.

“Papyrus, I need time. I need to look over all of the information before I can come to an accurate conclusion,” Alphys huffed, sounding a bit annoyed. Sans heard movement.

“Papyrus, can you come help me in the kitchen please?” Toriel asked, “You too Frisk. I need a hand in cleaning the vegetables.” 

“But, what if Sans wakes up?” Papyrus objected.

“I’ll call you if there’s a-any changes,” Alphys assured, then sighed in relief as everyone else left the room. 

“He can be a little overwhelming, huh?” Sans said, then let out a low chuckle when he heard Alphys jump. 

“Oh, S-Sans, you’re awake! I-I was just checking your, uh, your stats. Your soul seems to be, um, mostly n-normal, well, usual for y-you,” she mumbled, keeping her voice low to not get anyone’s attention. Sans opened his eyes, slowly, and was grateful for the lack of light in the room. 

“S-so, um, do you feel any different?” Alphys asked, tapping on her phone, then glancing back up to meet Sans’ dim eyes. 

“What happened?” He asked, not willing to give the energy to list off everything that felt wrong.

“W-well, we were at the concert. I, um, texted you that the C-Core was shut down, th-then I got a call from Undyne t-telling me to meet them at the m-medical tent. When I got there, th-they told me you had passed out, dropping Frisk as well. Th-they’re unhurt. Toriel caught them,” Alphys quickly added in, noticing Sans about to ask, “They also said that magic was coming from your eye. When you, um, threw up earlier, I th-think that was also excess magic. P-Papyrus explained your, um, condition,” Alphys turned away sheepishly. 

“It’s alright. You were gonna find out eventually.”

“Do you remember anything?” 

“None of that, no. I… think I remember somethin’ else, though…” Sans let his words trail off as he tried hard to remember right before he passed out. The throbbing headache from before came back, and Sans stopped. “I don’t know…” He finished. 

“W-well,” Alphys continued after a minute of silence, “I’ve been running tests. I might have to do an extraction if your magic levels do not d-decrease soon. I-I wish I knew what had caused it. P-Papyrus said you have not had any problems since leaving th-the u-underground.” 

“Yeah. I could never pinpoint where all of that magic was coming from. I think it was an accident when I was younger…” Again, Sans tried to remember, but the memories were vague. He shrugged, the movement coming off awkward in his position on the bed. 

“W-well, if you’re willing, I w-would like to know about...about your past. It sounds like you were, um, directly involved in the a-accident that happened seven years ago. I have read over some of the r-reports, and they mention someone named… Gaster?” Alphys had turned to her phone again, typing away while speaking. She missed Sans’ sockets dim and his body tense at the name. “Have you heard of him b-before?” 

“No,” Sans said, his voice suddenly tight and rough. Alphys glanced up at that, and watched Sans curiously. “Maybe he just worked at the lab before the accident.” 

Sans was well aware that, for whatever reason, everyone who had been at the explosion had been generally forgotten, although little reminders were still found around the underground. It just so happened that everyone in the lab was there that day for the finishing of the Core. Sans was simply lucky to have teleported out just in time. That did not leave him unscathed, though. If he were given the chance over again, he would have done it differently. He would have saved-

Sans felt a light tapping on his cheek and he opened his eyes again to find Alphys staring at him. 

“I’m sorry. Just, um, making sure you were still awake,” Alphys apologized then turned back to her phone. 

“O-oh! I forgot to tell you! I made this new app that can scan souls and take stats for any monster. You need to be registered, so the phone can recognize your magic, of course. It’s like taking a fingerprint. I’m also working on having magical signatures be used in place of a password, so the monster can never worry about anyone else using their phones or other personal devices. This will be revolutionary! I think, anyways. I mean, I have it working great on my phone, and I just put in your magical signatures into this prototype. The, um, the humans are interested in what I can do, and they are hoping I can do the same thing for them, but it will be a lot harder, considering their magic is less and the phone would have to be more sensitive to...um… sorry,” Alphys finished clumsily, suddenly realizing she had been rambling.

Sans had moved his hand over his face at some point and began rubbing at his temples. The migraine had intensified and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. “Yeah, that’s really cool Alphys. You should show me more after… after this,” Sans tried to sound positive, but he certainly did not feel it. 

Alphys perked back up and nodded enthusiastically, “Of course! After…” She let her words be finished silently, then turned back to her phone. A puzzled expression took over as she read over the screen. 

“This can’t be right…” She mumbled, tapping the screen a few times then doing another quick scan. When the same results came up, her leg began to shake. As she began typing in new commands, a notification popped up on her phone, telling her something unusual was caught on one of her sensors in the underground. 

After mostly everyone had left, Alphys made sure to keep her cameras and sensors running, so she could make sure no one would desecrate the remains down there. The monsters still underground deserved to live peacefully, and the underground was part of their history now and deserved to be preserved for future generations. 

She tapped on the notification, then jumped in surprise and dropped her phone when Papyrus yelled from around the corner that dinner was ready. 

“Okay! Be there in a minute! Sans, a-are you feeling well enough to eat?” Alphys asked, but frowned when the answer was a low groan. 

“That’d probably be a bad idea right now,” Sans rolled over on the bed and buried his face in the pillow. “Go on without me. I’ll find a way to pasta the time alone. And I think it’ll involve sleeping.” 

Alphys calmly ignored the pun.“Well, if you say so. I’ll c-come check up on you in a bit then. I’ll leave the phone.  I-If you need anything, the phone h-has already been programmed to r-read touch w-without heat signatures so you-”

“Got it,” Sans cut her off, his only desire at that moment to get to sleep. Alphys nodded, then left the room, leaving the phone on a side table next to the bed. After the clicking of claws on the hard floor could no longer be heard did Sans let himself slip into a deep sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is my first fic in a while, but I've been writing this all over the country, so there's been a lot of inspiration. 
> 
> I will be posting weekly, probably on random days, but I will try to stay regular. My job requires me flying everywhere, so I'll even add what state or country I was in when I post it, just for fun. First: Ohio! 
> 
> I also have a second part for this story, already a third of the way written. I actually started the other story first, and it has to do with the past. I'll be posting that once this story gets going. 
> 
> For now, I hope you enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When not a single person is very good at communicating...

‘ ~~ _I will see you soon_~~ ’ 

Sans awoke with a start, sitting up quickly, then regretting it as the world spun for a few seconds. After his surroundings stabilized, Sans carefully swung his legs over the side of the bed and hopped off, holding onto the bed just in case. When he was sure he would stay steady, he walked out of the familiar room and easily made his way through the halls and toward the kitchen. He could seriously go for some ketchup right now. 

As Sans turned into the kitchen, he was only mildly surprised to find it empty. He glanced around, shrugged, then went for the fridge. He grabbed what he wanted, unscrewed the top and chugged it down. He felt as if he had not eaten in days. 

After what he could remember of the last twenty-four hours, he was content with his condiment and quiet. 

“What do you mean there’s a strange sound?!” Sans winced as the muffled yell of Undyne came from the living room. He could he other muffled voices talking back and forth, all sounding too excited for his liking. After another chug of ketchup, Sans set it down on the table then teleported.  

As the living room popped into his vision, Sans realized there was a problem. He looked down at the incoming ground, then landed hard on the wood flooring. 

“Sans! Brother, are you-?” Papyrus was the first to state his worry, followed closely by Undyne.

“Where the hell did you come from?! You know what, I have better things to worry about right now. I got a call from the underground guard. There seems to be a problem,” Undyne was pacing the floor, with the other occupants in the room watching her with unease. 

“Al, have you had any notifications recently from the underground? Specifically Waterfall?” Undyne stopped pacing for a moment to stare at her girlfriend. Alphys stared back at Undyne, then something seemed to click. 

“Y-yes, I have, actually. It’s…” Alphys searched her pockets for a minute, becoming more flustered by the second. 

“Uh, can anyone explain what is going on?” Sans asked, finally standing up from his uncomfortable position on the floor. 

“I don’t know yet, but whatever is going on, it’s freaking the guard out. I can’t get a straight answer.” Undyne rubbed a hand over her face and finally stopped pacing. 

“The lab!” Alphys immediately ran out of the room without another word. 

“Okay…” Sans rubbed his arm, trying to lessen the pain from his fall. “How about I go check things out real quick then? I can pop in and out-” 

“No. I don’t know what’s going on down there, and you just woke up from I don’t know. I’m not about to put you or anyone else in unnecessary danger,” Undyne ordered, then turned around when Alphys came back into the room. 

“I-I, um...” Alphys tapped a few commands into her phone then looked up at the other occupants in the room. “My sensors p-picked an anomaly. A-and my cameras i-in Waterfall also caught th-this strange, um, static.” 

“Static? Well, let’s see it then!” Undyne walked over and stared at the phone screen. Sans watched with anticipation, his soul feeling tight. He jumped when a small hand made its way into his own. He stared down at Frisk, who signed one-handed at him. Sans’ mind barely comprehended the question, and was pulled away as he heard a familiar buzzing. 

“You think it’s just faulty audio?” Undyne asked, in response to the video of Waterfall being pulled up. 

“N-no. They’re all like that. I can’t s-seem to get a clear video feed from a-any of them.” Alphys tapped away at her phone again, bringing up several pages, each showing a different part of Waterfall. One video failed to show up at all, nothing but black with the occasional glitch. 

“Where’s that one?” Undyne pointed to the broken video feed. 

“U-um… this in the entrance to the m-main caverns.”

“Gotcha. Alright, I’m gonna need you to-” Sans did not hear the rest as he let go of Frisk and teleported to Waterfall. He did not end up in Waterfall, however, and made it to the entrance of Hotland. 

Sans landed clumsily on the ground, cursed under his breath and dusted himself off. There must be something wrong for his shortcuts to suddenly go haywire. 

He looked around, and felt something ominous in the air. Every instinct was telling him to leave immediately. To turn around and never come back. That whatever this was, it was dangerous. But something in the back of his mind also told him to see it. That he knew what this was. That it was familiar. And so, curiosity won over and Sans entered Waterfall. 

 

 

As soon as he made it inside the damp caves of Waterfall, he could immediately hear a low static bouncing off of the walls. A shiver ran down Sans’ spine as he made his way forward. His mind was racing, but no thoughts seemed to hold long enough for him to comprehend. It was frustrating, to say the least. But he knew this from somewhere. He had heard it at the concert, that much he was sure of. But he felt as if he had come into contact with whatever was making that sound before now. Many years before now. 

Time seemed to speed up as his surroundings passed by and he was soon at the entrance to the caverns. The buzzing had been increasing in intensity the whole time, but as Sans snapped out of his thoughts, he noticed now that it seemed more like an uneven crackling, like a radio station trying to tune in on a frequency, but the radio is tuned a few numbers above or below the actual station. And Sans could swear he could hear voices coming from it. 

Gathering his courage and wondering what the hell he was doing, he continued toward the unknown before him, then jumped a good half foot and activated his magic as a bark sounded behind him. 

“Citizen, stop,” commanded Lesser Dog. He was running on all fours, and Sans could see Greater Dog jogging awkwardly behind him. 

“Sans,” Lesser Dog panted, stopping in front of said skeleton, “what are you doing here?” Sans shoved his magic away and shrugged casually. 

“Just checking out this weird sound I’ve been hearing. Wanna come?” He asked, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder. Lesser Dog tilted his head, then scratched behind his ear. 

“Captain says no citizens are to go near the sound until further investigation.” 

“Last time I checked, I had been part of the guard. I suppose that means I’m not really a citizen,” Sans countered, knowing the argument was weak. After all, the guard had been mostly dismantled after the monsters had gone to the surface. Lesser Dog did not think this was a problem, though. 

“You are correct,” he answered, his tongue now hanging out of his mouth. 

“Then how about we go check out the noise so we can report it to the captain?” But Greater Dog was now shaking his head.

“Undyne told us-”

“Yeah yeah, I know what she said. I got a message from her. She says the video feed isn’t working in this area, and she wants me to go check it out,” Sans lied easily. 

Greater and Lesser Dog took in the message, hesitating. 

“But, she did not-” Lesser Dog started.

“She would, but the signals down here are really bad right now. Besides, we have no time to wait. Come on,” Sans then turned and began walking through the entrance to the main caverns, not waiting for a reply. 

After a moment of hesitation, the two guards began to follow the short skeleton. 

Once inside the main cave of Waterfall, the noise increased to almost unbearable. Sans glanced back to the guards and frowned when he saw both flinch, their ears dropping close to their heads. A small whine escaped from one of them, but it was quickly drown out by the static. 

“Sans, it is not nice in here,” Lesser Dog whimpered beside him as they kept moving forward, the light from the entrance of the caverns becoming devoured by almost complete darkness. 

“I didn’t say it was gonna be a walk in the park,” Sans answered, then activated his magic to give them some light. 

Two things immediately happened once Sans’ magic was glowing bright. 

His eye began to burn and yellow and blue magic suddenly flared bright from his eye and beneath his shirt. The light gave all three monsters an unwelcome view of the majority of the cavern, showing them a large, dark hole in the middle, seeming to suck in all light and objects in its general vicinity. The air seemed to change as the group hesitated in their forward march, and Sans sucked in a short breath as his magic flared brighter in response. 

“Danger!” Barked Greater Dog, the first to snap out of the awestruck trance. He growled at the ominous void not one hundred feet in front of them, and got down on all fours. “Get away from danger!”

Sans looked in the direction of the hole and saw  Shyren, seemingly not of her own conscious choice, moving toward the void. Sans stared for a moment longer, before his mind finally understood what was happening and made to teleport. He was hesitant to use it again considering the past two times, however. Greater Dog was already ahead of him, though, moving first. 

“Wait! Don’t go near that!” Sans yelled, but in vain. 

Lesser Dog barked beside Sans and ran forward as well.

“Damnit!” Sans groaned as his mind raced to figure out what to do. He flinched when pain spiked in his eye and his magic flared once more, causing the cavern to light up in yellow and blue. The scene before him played out before he could come to a decision. 

Lesser Dog, the faster of the two guards, reached Shyren first. He barked out an order to her, but she either did not hear or could not react as she simply kept moving toward the hole. 

The room seemed to glitch and Sans’ magic pulsed with it. He watched in stunned horror as Shyren reached the event horizon of the hole. In a split second decision, he jumped through a shortcut, aiming for Shyren to stop her. To do anything. But, as Sans landed on his back on the opposite end of the cavern, he realized he had made a mistake. 

The static in the room seemed to pulse with Sans’ magic, and he cried out in frustration and pain as he watched helplessly, from his new angle, as the scene continued to unfold before him. 

Lesser Dog ran for Shyren, who had made it to the condensed abyss. She disappeared into it, and Greater Dog barked a command. Lesser Dog ran forward, trying to call to Shyren. When there was no answer, he ran forward into the hole, Greater Dog barking another order. 

“Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit,” Sans cursed, the sound rousing him out of his stunned silence. He pushed himself up, stumbling against the searing pain in his eye, and ran towards where the two monsters had disappeared into. 

The closer he got, the less the world around him seemed coherent and solid. The usually still air of the cavern picked up and was going right to the void. Sans could almost see the thing moving. Growing. It was getting larger, he realized, but the thought was gone in an instant as he reached Greater Dog, who was letting out a low whine. Greater Dog did not seem to acknowledge the other monster. 

“Greater Dog! Damnit!” Sans cursed loudly, his voice barely carrying past his mouth. “Greater Dog!” He tried again, grabbing the guard’s arm and pulling him down. “Leave! I’ll get them!” And with a hard push to the guard toward the entrance of the cavern, Sans turned around, not waiting to see the other monster leave. 

The void loomed in front of him, consuming all light and pulsing with a hungry need that Sans vaguely recognized. The static that had become white noise now increased to an almost unbearable screeching, the sound causing his skull to vibrate and his limbs to go numb. 

“Hole. E. Crap,” Sans managed to say as he stared into the endless black, and his mind went numb. He knew this. It felt so familiar. But how? Before he could think any further, his magic pulsed again, tendrils of magic snaking out from beneath his t-shirt. He watched as they slowly moved toward, then into the void. The room seemed to glitch again. 

Instinct took over. Before Sans could stop himself, he ran forward, closing his eyes and moving his arms in front of him to brace himself. He felt no resistance as the world dropped out around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am doing wingdings in the crossed out italic until I can figure out something better. 
> 
> Decided to load the second chapter early because. Still in Ohio! 
> 
> Tell me what you guys think so far! 
> 
> And, I can't remember if I put this down yet, but I do not own Undertale, no matter how cool that would be. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Into the void. Only fun times ahead! Wonder what will be in there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are wingding, because why not?

Sans stumbled and fell forward, his arms in front of him to brace his fall. But he never hit the ground. In a sudden panic, he opened his eyes, and took in everything around him. Or lack thereof. 

“The hell?” He asked, and was startled when he did not hear his own voice. He glanced around again, trying to find something for him to focus on. Anything. But the world around remained black and featureless. He stared down, or what he assumed to be down, and realized that he was not standing on anything. He reached down to touch the ground, but felt nothing. 

After a minute of floating through the empty space did he decide to activate his magic, wanting some kind of light. He regretted it instantly as a flash of pain shot through his eye. Sans looked down at his hands when he saw movement that was not his own and flinched back when he saw his hand glitch a few inches to the left then go back into place. He touched the hand to his eye and was reassured when he felt the touch, but frowned when the pain in his eye did not dissipate. 

“ _You should not do that_.” Sans heard, or rather, consciously acknowledged the words as he spun around, trying to identify where the voice had come from. 

“ _It has been a while._ ” The voice continued, and Sans glanced around again, but this time caught sight of something, and yelled in surprise when a face appeared a few inches from his face.  

“W-who are…?”

“ _Surely you have not forgotten me already._ ” The face backed away a few feet, hands materializing out of the space around him and coming together in front of him. 

“I-I...but… _Gaster_?” Sans stumbled over his words, astonishment and disbelief causing his mind to struggle with thought. 

“yEs SaNs,” Gaster answered, and Sans flinched at the sound of his voice. It cracked and fluctuated with every syllable, as if not being able to focus on a single pitch. 

“But, how are- I saw- you died!” Sans could feel tears welling up in his sockets as the memories of that time were bought back. 

“I thought I had too,” Gaster sighed, the sound a sharp static. Sans took in the other’s appearance, only able to make out the hands and face. They seemed to be melting. 

“Then how…?” Sans let his words trail off, then he sucked in a sharp breath as his eye spiked in pain once more. The colors from his activated magic streamed off in trails around him, and he looked down to see his soul doing the same. 

“You must leave now!” Gaster’s voice rose in volume, rising to a screeching that continued well past when he finished speaking. The sudden change in volume caught Sans off guard and he yelled out in pain as his skull seemed to vibrate with the echoing words, made almost indistinguishable now. 

“LEAVE!” Sans could hear Gaster yell over the cacophony around him. Everything became unbearable, the screeching from the nothingness around him puncturing into his very being and burning his bones. 

This was it. He must be dying. He wished it wasn’t so painful. The world glitched. 

****  
  


The ground was solid beneath him. That was Sans’ first thought. The next was that his skull felt wet. And not from the ground. He heard a faint whining coming from above him. 

“Sans?” Greater Dog whined, then proceeded to lick his skull a few more times, trying to rouse the skeleton. Sans did not have the energy to move away at the moment, nor the willpower to tell him to stop. His soul still burned, albeit to a much lesser degree than what it was a few moments ago. What had happened?

“I called Captain. She will be here very soon. She will know what to do,” Greater Dog seemed to be mumbling to himself as Sans refused to stir from his prone position on the ground. The mention of Undyne, however, made him move into action, although slowly, his bones feeling weighted down, as if filled with lead. His eye also burned as he opened them and took in the wet grass in front of him. He closed them again and groaned as he heard the echo of the one person he did not want to see right now. 

“I swear if anything else has happened since-”

“Undyne, please slow down a little!”

“Sans!” Said skeleton moved back into action again as he heard his name called out in surprise. A few more seconds passed until the upper half of his body was lifted from the ground. He forced his eyes open once more, hissing quietly at the pain and noting the glow coming from it. He blinked the magic away, trying to focus on his brother, who was staring down at him, a worried frown replacing his usually enthusiastic features. 

“Is he alive?” Undyne walked up behind Papyrus, and Sans could feel a headache forming already. 

“Yes,” Papyrus answered, not taking his attention from his brother. 

“Heya, pap,” Sans said, trying for a smile, but probably getting something resembling a grimace. 

“Hi Sans. Can you stand?” 

“Um, I wouldn’t count on it, but I bet I could sit alright,” Sans pushed himself from his brother’s steady hold and, after catching himself in the wet grass, steadied himself and stared up at his brother. 

“Sans… brother, what… why did you leave? What happened here?” Papyrus’ tone switched between worried and upset. Sans was not sure which one hurt him more. 

“It’s a-”

“No brother. Do not tell me ‘it’s a long story’. I need to know what happened so we can help,” Papyrus cut Sans off angrily, then dropped his tone for worry once more. “This is the second time in a 24 hour period that I have found you unconscious. I am worried, Sans. I do not know what is going on, and I am afraid of what is happening to you. I cannot go through this again.” And the last part made Sans’ heart break. 

“Pap...bro…”

“Sans!” A groan from the skeleton at the call of his name indicated he had heard. “Greater Dog just got through explaining what happened. Considering that you seemed awfully excited to run toward this thing, you’d better have a good fucking explanation for doing so.” 

“Ugh... Undyne do we have to do this right now? I just got back from-”

“No Sans. One of my men and a civilian have disappeared into thin air and I want know why. So if you know, then you better fucking tell,” Undyne had stormed up beside Sans and now stood over him, glaring down in all of her fury. Sans rubbed his temples with one hand, trying to stop his growing irritation. 

“If I knew what the hell was going on, I would be more than happy to tell you, okay? I just jumped into a black hole in the middle of this fucking room for your guard and shyren. I am in-” Sans paused in his rant when he heard a low beeping coming from behind him. He turned an irritated glare at the object in question and came face to face with Alphys, who squeaked in surprise at the movement and fell back onto her tail. 

“I-I am sorry, Sans. I was just- I got a notification that your… that your magic was, um... “ Alphys trailed off awkwardly, looking down at her phone, which was still beeping steadily. “I, um, a-also caught another strange signature in the a-area. B-but it cannot be correct…” Alphys mumbled then began typing into the phone. 

“Alphys, what the hell are you trying to say?” Undyne cut in, her arms now crossed impatiently across her chest and staring down at her significant other in mild irritation at having her conversation with Sans interrupted. 

“W-well, Sans’ magic is… well, it changed since the-the last time I took a reading a f-few hours ago,” Alphys finally continued, fixing her glasses and moving closer to Sans again, passing the phone over his chest. There was a soft ‘ding’ as the scan was taken, then Alphys did the same with Papyrus. 

“The heck you need pap for?” Sans inquired, relieved the tension was taken somewhat off of him. 

“W-well, I took the magical signatures of all of our closest friends, to- to test the program efficiently. Yours was the only one I’ve been actively u-using it for, though.” She read over the scan when it had completed on Papyrus, then turned behind her and made the same scan into the air. 

“So…?”

“So, when I came into the room, I h-had received a notification from both you and your brother. I-it can detect magical signatures within a hundred foot perimeter. It is still in the prototype phase, so it will have a larger radius later on. If I were insert a-”

“Alphys, I’m sorry, but can you get to the point?” Undyne urged, her foot now tapping impatiently. 

“O-oh, sorry. Well, when we entered the room, the device picked up Papyrus, b-but he had been next to me the whole time, a-and seemed unchanged. I looked closer, and the app was reading two separate magical s-signatures.  Which it has never done before. I-I checked it over. It was r-reading it from… um.. From you, Sans.” Alphys finally finished weakly, her previous enthusiasm dying with her words. 

“Okay… that’s all fine and dandy, but what does that have to do with our current situation?” Undyne finally spoke up. 

“I don’t- I’m not sure. It could just be a glitch, o-or it could be-”

“Do you think it might be from the rip I just came from?” Sans interrupted, his mind now working to solve this new puzzle. 

“Oh, yeah, that brings us back to why I was pissed at you in the first place. What the hell happened down here?!” Undyne’s eternal rage spiked again as she was reminded of the the reason one of her men were missing. 

“Look, I don’t really know, okay? Can you just… can you give me five minutes to process the shit I just experienced in peace please?” Sans shot back, and a quickening beeping could be heard behind him. “and can you turn that damn thing off for a minute?!” Sans shot at Alphys, who flinched away under his gaze. 

A few tense moments passed, the beeping continuing. Finally Alphys reached her hand up and touched right below her eye. 

“U-um… your eye,” she said. Sans reached up and mirrored her action, wiping right below his left eye. He pulled his hand back and stared dumbly down at the blue liquid that was covering the phalanges. He was startled when he felt a soft cloth under the eye and pushed away the gentle touch of his brother angrily. 

“You know what? I need a nap,” Sans then activated his magic.

“Sans, don’t-” But he was gone before Papyrus could finish his sentence. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that was a short visit, but it certainly will not be the last. 
> 
> This one is from Nevada!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some information comes into light, but is it really something they want to know?

    “That arrogant, self-centered little prick,” Undyne cursed, stomping the ground once in frustration, then running a hand down her face.

    “I-I think this is for the b-best for now. He seemed to be under a l-lot of stress,” Alphys piped up after Undyne finally composed herself.

    “And I’m not? I don’t even want to think of the report I’ll have to file for Asgore.”

    “I’ve never seen him this upset since...” Papyrus said, his eyes staring blankly at the ground that Sans was sitting on just a minute ago.

    “The hell are you talking about, bonehead?” Undyne crouched down to Papyrus’ level on the ground and tugged on his scarf when he did not immediately respond.

    “Oh, sorry. It’s nothing, I am sure. We will find him later. For now we need to focus on the task at hand and figure out why doctor Alphys’ cameras are not working.” Papyrus then fixed his scarf and dusted down the light jacket he was wearing, standing up in the process.

    “I’m pretty sure Sans knows what’s going on here, but won’t tell us,” Undyne kicked a soft patch of grass.

    “He needs time to think. No one can reason with him when he acts like this. I will find him later. In the meantime, I think we should try to solve this puzzle! Or, at least get a few of the pieces in the right places. As they say, do the edges first and the rest will come together quickly!” Undyne sighed, but nodded nonetheless.

“Fine. Let’s see if there are any other monsters around here that might have seen something. And can one of you guys call Toriel for me? I don’t feel like dealing with explaining things right now. Thanks.” And with a note of finality, Undyne began to walk towards the other end of the cavern, hoping to find any monster within the vicinity to interrogate. And if not, she already had another monster in mind.

 

 

“Gerson!” Undyne announced her presence, and the monster being called smiled at his long time friend.

“I still don’t understand why you don’t leave this hellhole, old guy,” Undyne went to the side of the damp cave Gerson’s shop was set in and grabbed a chair, pulling it up to the counter.

“It’s very nice to see you too, Undyne,” Gerson answered, his smile never leaving as he watched the other get situated.

“Yeah, whatever. You know I can get you a nice place above ground.”

“And you know I’d rather stay where I am. I’m old and stuck in my ways. No use in arguing about it anymore. You won’t change my mind,” Gerson laughed haughtily then leaned back in his chair. “So, what honor do I have to have you visiting me this time, hmm?”

“What if I just wanted to come say ‘hi’ or something? Does there have to be a reason?” Undyne asked, trying to keep the conversation light for a bit longer.

“Well, usually I wouldn’t question it, but I know that look in your eye. You’re on a mission, and you’re not happy about it. Tell me everything and I’ll see what I can do to help.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I need to know if you’ve seen or heard anything strange in the area?” Undyne started, grabbing up a crab apple and taking a bite while Gerson thought over the question.

“Why, yes, actually. Ever since the science guys in Hotland shut down that machine… the Core. There has been this strange buzzing.” Undyne leaned forward, her interest now piqued. “Thought it was my imagination at first, but it kept changing direction. At first it came from Hotland, so I thought it was only the Core cooling off or something. But then it stopped for a bit. I heard it again not more than a few hours ago. Then it stopped again. You know anything about this?”

“Yeah, that’s the exact reason I came, actually. So, you said you first heard it coming from Hotland, then it started again?”

“It was a lot louder and was coming from the other side of my shop now. Thought it was just my ears finally giving out on me after it wouldn’t stop,” Gerson laughed, then pushed himself from his leaned back position, looking at Undyne. “You know what it is?”

“No. Yes? There’s… don’t think I’m crazy or anything, because I don’t understand it either.”

“You’re talking to me, girl. I’m as crazy as it gets,” Gerson tipped his hat and Undyne huffed her amusement.

“Yeah. I don’t know what it is, but I know it’s causing serious trouble. Two monsters have gone missing and I have no idea where to start looking. And our only lead decided it was a great time to disappear.” Undyne threw her half-eaten crab apple against the wall beside her and frowned when it simply hit and fell without causing much damage.

“Sounds like something bad is happeneing,” Gerson started, then stopped and seemed to be lost in thought. Undyne watched him, her eyebrows coming together in confusion and impatience.

A few minutes passed before Undyne finally lost her patience. “What?! What the hell are you thinking about?”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry,” Gerson mumbled, finally pulled from his thoughts. “This old head stores a lot of useful information. It’s a bit rusty, though. I was just thinking that this is not the first time I had heard something like this. Back when the Core was still fresh, I remember hearing that same buzzing.” Undyne perked up again, her anger dropping immediately.

“Do you know what it was from?”

“No. Be damn useful if I did, though. Those science guys back in the day never said anything about anything to anybody. If only I could remember who they were…” Gerson seemed to go back into his thoughts.

“So the buzzing you think might be related to the Core?” Undyne said, snapping the old turtle from his musings.

“Might be, might not be. Wouldn’t hurt to see,” he hummed to himself for a minute. “What about that girlfriend of yours? You say she’s the royal scientist?”

“Well, was, when the Underground was still a thing. But yeah, she keeps track of that kinda stuff. Her cameras have been going haywire ever since she shut it down. Maybe her Core notifications are messed up too. Papyrus and her are working that out now. Wonder how the conversation with Toriel went…?”

“Ah, Papyrus. Haven’t heard from him or his brother in a while. How are the whippersnappers?”

“Papyrus is great. Sans is annoying as hell. As usual,” Undyne grunted, then nodded at Gerson.

“If that’s all the info you got, then I should head back to see what the others have found. Thanks for your help, Gerson.” Undyne stood to leave.

“Anytime. Remember to come visit this old man again soon.”

“Yeah, of course. Can’t leave you down here to rot by yourself,” Undyne said, then walked out of the shop, heading towards the labs where she knew Papyrus and Alphys had gone.

With any luck, they would have found something useful.

 

 

“Have we found anything useful yet, Alphys?” Papyrus called from one end of the lab. He was digging through recent files for the Core and pulling out any that might be deemed to have helpful information.

“Actually, yes,” Alphys called back. Papyrus grabbed the papers he had selected and jogged back over to Alphys, who was typing in a few codes into her main computer.

“It doesn’t help that the computer’s were overloaded when the Core was shut down, but I found out some critical information regarding the state of the Core itself.” Alphys adjusted her glasses and typed in a few lines of the same coding into her phone.

“I would never have thought to use a phone as a main computer!” Papyrus beamed. He was learning something new every day, and that pleased him to no end.

“Y-yes, of course. I can’t use the computers, so the phone will have to do. The only problem is my phone does not have the processing power to keep up with the multiple programs I want to keep running. I will have to do one at a time until I can find a better solution.” Alphys squinted down at her phone screen as it went dark for a moment, then brought up a status screen. “It worked!”

“Of course it worked, doctor Alphys. You are a genius after all. So, what would you like the great Papyrus to do with all of these papers?” Papyrus shuffled through a few pages as Alphys recovered from her immense blush and stuttering.

“I-I w-would like you t-to, um, to look over them and u-understand the general pattern of the Core. Those a-are the most recent ones I have, besides the ones from last night w-when we shut it down. I-I want to know if there was anything that seems suspicious, like someone tampering with it. I h-have a feeling that we might have to l-look for sabotage, from what my computer is able to tell me at the moment.”

“Understood! The great Papyrus will do his best to- I mean I will do my best to fulfill the duties I have been given!” Papyrus beamed, then stumbled when he almost dropped the papers he had loosened his clutch on during his heroic pose.

“Thanks Papyrus. Also, h-how’s Toriel and Frisk? Did they take the n-news well?”

“Oh, she did not answer so I left a voicemail. I should probably call them back soon,” Papyrus mumbled the last part to himself as he began to walk towards a nearby table.

“Thank you. I-I am not th-the best… speaker,” Alphys stuttered out, her focus going back to the machines before her.

“Do not worry, I will take care of all the talking that needs to be done. For I, the wonderful and fabulous Papyrus, am very good at speaking!”

“I can see that,” Alphys muttered under her breath, then went quiet as her attention became focused on the project in front of her.

Some time passed in relative silence, the sounds of papers being rustled and claws against a keyboard breaking up the calm.

“Papyrus, have you-”

“I believe I have found something!” Papyrus yelled, holding out a sheet of paper and waving it around. He stopped and stared at it again, then nodded and ran over to Alphys, who was trying to calm down her thudding heart.

“W-w-what did you f-find?” She stammered out, her pulse finally slowing to a more normal pace.

“Here and here!” Papyrus set the paper over her keyboard and pointed to a few lines. Alphys moved her glasses closer and read over them herself. After analysing it, she sat back and nodded.

“Those are abnormalities, but what exactly are they referring to? They do not seem to be centralized, but mentioning several different areas almost at once. Unless…” Alphys turned back to her phone, shrinking down a few windows she had up and bringing out a new program. She typed away and, after a few minutes, sucked in a breath, an inkling of understanding beginning to crawl over her.

“The Core was sabotaged!” She nearly yelled, and Papyrus jumped back at the sudden volume.

“Who would do such a thing?” Papyrus asked, his mind not able to accept wrongdoing as the answer.

“I suppose if someone wanted to cause havoc, or did not want anyone else to leave the Underground, they would do this. This explains why I haven’t received any recent notifications from the Core. That was the first thing they destroyed... “ Alphys sat back in the chair and sighed, rubbing a clawed hand down her face and feeling the cricks in her back already.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Papyrus piped up after a minute.

“Yeah. Can you call Toriel and Undyne? We need to update them o-on what we found.”

“Of course! I will check on Frisk and Toriel. Captain Undyne said she will be here after talking to an old friend, so I will give her time to finish.” And with a final nod, Papyrus took out his phone and speed-dialed Toriel.

Papyrus wandered away from Alphys, who had gone back to work on her computer, and waited for an answer from the phone.

“Hello?” The calm voice of Toriel drifted through the phone’s speaker.

“Toriel, I am glad you answered this time!” Papyrus nearly yelled in his excitement, then stopped when he heard laughing at the other end of the phone.

“Yes, sorry about that! I was wrist deep in blueberries and butterscotch when you called. I forgot to call back. The pastries I made are going to turn out wonderful, however,” Toriel hummed on the other end of the line. Papyrus could practically smell the pastries now.

“That sounds wonderful! Then I will assume you have not heard my message?” After an affirmation from Toriel, Papyrus continued. “Well, I have called to update you on the current events.” Papyrus then went on to explain everything that had happened in the time since they had last seen each other.

“That sounds awful! Is your brother okay?” Papyrus paused at this question, his teeth pressing tightly together before he remembered he needed to speak.

“Well, I am not sure. I have not heard from him since he had left and I am quite worried… actually,” Papyrus became quiet once more, the silence tense and awkward.

“I am sorry, dear,” Toriel broke the silence after a bit, “but we will find him. He did not come back here, and with how it sounds, he might be too tired to leave the Underground. Have you tried your house?”

“No. He does not have his phone, and the house no longer has a landline. I am needed at the moment to help Alphys in the labs. Although, I wish I knew he was alright…” Papyrus became quiet once more, before perking up at a thought.

“How is Frisk?”

“I left them in the living room. I think they covered themselves in pillows and went to sleep. I’ll go check on them now,” Toriel added the last part as her voice changed from her changing locations.

“Frisk?” Toriel had pulled the phone away from her as she checked on the child. A minute passed, then a gasped could be heard on the other end of the line.

“Queen? Is everything alright?” Papyrus nearly yelled into the phone, his panic mimicking hers.

“Frisk! Dear, please come out!” Papyrus waited impatiently as Toriel seemed to be searching the whole house for the child in question. Finally, Papyrus heard the front door squeak open and wind muted the speaker for a moment.

“I cannot find Frisk, Papyrus. I need to call them. I will call back later. I am sorry.” The line then went dead and Papyrus could feel his own want to call the child immediately, but left it well enough alone. He opted instead to call Undyne.

“What? Any news on the cameras?” Undyne commanded through the phone.

“Yes. Were you able to get information from the other monsters?” Papyrus decided to leave Frisk out of the conversation until he heard back from Toriel.

“Yeah. The old geezer had a lot of useful stuff to say. I’ll relay it all when I get there. Give me ten minutes. This lava is harsh on my scales and I gotta rehydrate all the time,” Undyne huffed. “Anything I need to know right now? Or can it wait?”

“I suppose-” Papyrus was cut off by his phone ringing. “I apologize, but I must go.” Papyrus then hung up and answered Toriel.

“Frisk is not answering their phone. I think it ran out of battery. Can you have Alphys track the phone’s location?”

“Of course. Can you hold on one moment?” Papyrus then went over to Alphys and relayed all of the information he had recently gathered. Alphys nodded and brought up a tracking app on her phone. After a minute, a gps location came up. Papyrus read off the numbers, but could not make sense of them.

“They seem to be… in Snowdin! B-but what a-are they doing there?” Alphys zeroed in on the exact location and pulled out a digital map of the Underground. She studied both for a moment as Papyrus updated Toriel on the news.

“What would they be doing there? Could you put me on speaker, please?” Papyrus complied then set the phone down on the desk.

“Actually,” Alphys looked up from the map and pointed at it, “they are at your house, Papyrus. D-do you think they might have f-found Sans?”

“If they did, then they are safe for now. I would like to find my brother as soon as possible. He did not look well when we saw him last and now that I know that Frisk is with him I would like them to be within my sight.”

“I will head to Snowdin right away. Papyrus, will you be meeting me?” Toriel asked over the speaker.

“I would li-”

“The hell is going on in here, losers?!” Undyne announced her presence as she stomped her way over to the other monsters in the room.

“Undyne! Perfect! You can now help Alphys while I go look for my brother,” Papyrus said, then grabbed his phone and turned around to walk out the door.

“Woah, hey, I need at least an update or something,” Undyne yelled at Papyrus, who did not even turn around.

“Doctor Alphys can tell you everything. I will be back in no time at all. Oh, and I will meet you at my house, your highness!”

“Thank you. I should be able to get there in forty minutes. I am sure you will be there in less time.”

“Yes. I will wait for you. Goodbye for now.” Papyrus then hung up and made his way over to the river that ran throughout the Underground. The ferry was there waiting for him, like it always is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting from the sunny (yet somehow still chilly) Los Angeles! 
> 
> I apologize for the chapters being posted in no sensical order. I make no sense sometimes. My job is working me like crazy. I signed up for it, so I can't complain, though. 
> 
> A lot of information in about to be thrown your way, so I hope everyone is ready! Also, the next few chapters, I could not figure out which order to best post them. If they would make sense in a different order, please let me know and I'll correct that immediately. Until they come out, however, I hope you had enjoyed this one!


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